Smith included in Far East squad

Alan Smith has been handed a place in Manchester United’s Far East tour squad as speculation over his Red Devils career rumbles on.

The former Leeds star has supposedly been seeking assurances over his future after failing to land a new contract offer from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Reports of a £6million bid from Middlesbrough being accepted for Smith have done little to quell the rumours surrounding his long-term future and with United attempting to push through a deal for Carlos Tevez this week, the England international’s time at Old Trafford does appear limited.

But, with Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured and Giuseppe Rossi missing out due to his European Under-21 Championship commitments with Italy this summer, Smith found himself alongside Wayne Rooney as one of only two front-line strikers in Ferguson’s squad.

Also missing were skipper Gary Neville, Park Ji-sung and Ben Foster through injury, Gerard Pique, whose season with Real Zaragoza in Spain ran until the end of June, Dong Fangzhou, currently on Asia Cup duty with China, plus Anderson and Gabriel Heinze, who were hoping for Copa America glory with Brazil and Argentina respectively.

Heinze is currently in demand by Liverpool but United have steadfastly refused to entertain a deal with their north-west rivals, even though Rafael Benitez has met the £6.8million asking price.

Kieran Richardson was another absentee after also featuring in the Under-21 Championships, although with a move to Sunderland pending, he was not expected to be involved anyway.

The raft of losses allowed Ferguson to draft in some of his young stars, namely Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans, who made such an impression in Sunderland’s surge to promotion.

Darron Gibson, Danny Simpson and Chris Eagles were also involved, as was Phil Bardsley, who spent last term at Rangers and Aston Villa.